Has ammo cost or availablity made you change your rifle choices?

Have you avoided buying certain rifles or changed your mind about buying certain rifles due to ammo cost or availability?

If you enjoyed reading about "Has ammo cost or availablity made you change your rifle choices?" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join TheHighRoad.org today for the full version!

Frog48

June 13, 2007, 04:19 PM

Nope.

db_tanker

June 13, 2007, 04:27 PM

no sir...

have rockchucker, will shoot. :)

D

PotatoJudge

June 13, 2007, 04:37 PM

No, so long as I can get my hands on at least 100 brass cases I'm good. I shoot mostly lead now because of increased prices of components.

taliv

June 13, 2007, 04:38 PM

nope, but then, i reload.

actually, that's not ENTIRELY true... because ammo has gone up so much, it's making 5.7x28 seem much cheaper by comparison, so i've been shooting more of that in the past few months than normal.

Mikee Loxxer

June 13, 2007, 04:41 PM

No, another reloader here.

erict

June 13, 2007, 04:43 PM

Yes and no, I find that I'm shooting my .223 rifles alot more lately but I plan on purchasing a nice bolt rifle in .308 also, so:

"yes" because I'm shooting the cheaper ammo lately and,

"No" since it's not stopping me from buying one that costs more to feed.

Texas Colt

June 13, 2007, 04:46 PM

Nope. I'm another reloader. The only exception is the Mosin Nagant 91/59 that I just bought.

ziadel

June 13, 2007, 04:51 PM

Yes, I'm not adding any more CETME/HK91 type rifles to my stable...

esmith

June 13, 2007, 04:55 PM

I shoot a lot more .22 these days thats for sure. Maybe thats because i dont have money in the first place.

birdv

June 13, 2007, 05:02 PM

I have not shot alot of surplus this year. Because I cannot find anything decent to replace my nice surplus. I am cheap; however I am not a fan of low quality ammo at 3 times the price of my goodstuff three years ago.(last time I bought surplus ammo)

akolleth

June 13, 2007, 05:03 PM

Yep. Used to own a nice Imbel Fal, and a Cetme kit that I was planning to build. Sold them both because of the insanely high prices .308 is fetching, even reloads. I couldn't see owning a semi Fal and only being able to shoot up like 50 rounds a sitting.

I guess in my opinion it would be like owning a Ferrari but only being able to afford 1 gallon of gas a month for it. Whats the point.

This is the picture of the Fal I used to own.

http://home.earthlink.net/~akolleth/fal.JPG

And before any of you start crying out "never sell a gun" here is what I bought with the proceeds. Had enough from the sale of the Fal for the rifle from CMP, some accessories, 10 clips, and 240 rounds of Lake city. It seems 30/06 is MUCH cheaper when bought through CMP :)

http://home.earthlink.net/~akolleth/garand.jpg

The Deer Hunter

June 13, 2007, 05:43 PM

7.62x54R is wicked cheap :)

cracked butt

June 13, 2007, 05:59 PM

No, in fact I bought a M95 Steyr-mannlicher about a month ago and still haven't found ammo for it.

Don't Tread On Me

June 13, 2007, 06:03 PM

Yes, for me it has.

For 9mm, I've gone to lead. $17 for 500. Brass I get free. Powder and primers are not much. That's better than the near $80 for 500 that WWB is going for now.

I reload for .223, but I was never set up for production. I'm set up to make match-grade stuff in lower quantity. The purpose was to make 75gr and 77gr loads actually affordable to shoot and practice with. Not set up to crank out 55gr blasting ammo. I'd have to do much higher volume and buy in large bulk (as well as get a progressive press) in order to make the labor efforts offset the savings vs. Wolf. Right now, Wolf is high priced and scarce, but it is still a value (barely) when compared to the work I'd have to put in making bulk .223.

My next project is to get a bolt action precision centerfire rifle (like a "sniper rig"). Focus more on low volume precision shooting and learn to really tweak loads as well as to learn drop comp, wind, and other goodies. I've been focused more on practical rifles (AR-15's) for rapid fire 0-200m. Loading .308 is not cheap either, but it is a more productive use of time within the whole firearm hobby for a guy who cannot shoot 300rds a week due to ammo prices when doing other styles of shooting.

I'm also going to bring back out my accurized 10/22 that has been neglected for a while. 25 and 50 yard shooting isn't the greatest, but you can definately get good trigger time and practice working on mechanics and technique that way.

Shooting is actually a 2nd hobby for me, so I try and keep it somewhat on a budget. If it were my main hobby/sport - I'd have about triple the budget for it and would do regular bulk ammo purchases or more serious reloading.

ArmedBear

June 13, 2007, 06:04 PM

Cabela's has M95 ammo. It's not cheap, but it's modern non-corrosive ammo.

And yes. It helped me to have an excuse to buy a Marlin 39A. Glad I did it!:)

SaMx

June 13, 2007, 06:57 PM

yup.
or planned purchases rather.

Full Clip

June 13, 2007, 07:16 PM

Actually, I've more ammo than ever, 'cause it's not going down, only up.

SoCalShooter

June 13, 2007, 07:27 PM

No not at all, I have been stocking up for a while.

MMcfpd

June 13, 2007, 07:30 PM

I'm in the same place as Full Clip, which has actually got me shooting more. Don't know how long that'll last, though.

RNB65

June 13, 2007, 09:02 PM

Only to the extent that I'm now spending more time shooting bolt-action rifles and trying to make each shot count rather than blasting away with my semiautos. I can make two boxes of Wolf 7.62x39 last all afternoon with my CZ Carbine.

Eightball

June 13, 2007, 10:29 PM

Not really. I'm getting into reloading anyhow, so it'll be cheap by comparison, so no worries. That, and I already have a huge stockpile of ammo for all but my .308s and my .30 Carbine.

If I'd known then what I know now about ammo prices, it might have changed my mind a bit, but I've got what I've got, and I'm sticking with it.

dstorm1911

June 14, 2007, 12:18 AM

been stocking up on all calibers for 20 years, and invested in 3 Dillon 1250s a couple years ago, we also cast bullets (free lead from copper mines many years ago to just haul it off... got 10,000lbs out back) for every milsurp caliber as well as most handgun cartridges, last year I setup a 12'x40' room just for ammo production to feed all the milsurps and even shooting a couple thousand rounds a week we load 1.5 times what is used.

remember when ya could get pull down military powder and surplus virgin powder cheap? I stockpiled it rather than pay jacked up ammo prices the only cal thats slow right now is 7.62x39 mainly cause I've only got bout 8,000 rnds worth of loadable brass right now but...... am constantly adding to the brass so.........

I did stop burning up my Chicom 7.62x51 so much though and started useing more of the FN and SA surplus instead, I save the reloaded 7.62x51 for the L1A1s and the PSG1 etc.. where the added accuracy actually makes a difference

insteada gettin rid of guns cause of ammo prices invest what ya'd spend on a new gun to get setup for reloading, cast bullets really are so much nicer for killin paper allowin ya to save the surplus stuff for blue hat target practice ;)

Gewehr98

June 14, 2007, 12:21 AM

I have a few Dillon progressives, as well as several single-stage reloading presses. I handload for 24 different chamberings already.

Ammo availability is a non-issue for me and my choices in firearms purchases.

As ammo prices increase, I'm holding out that gun prices will drop as folks get disgusted with feeding them. :D

Aaryq

June 14, 2007, 12:46 AM

Yes. Before I start drooling over a weapon that I want, I make a quick trip to cheaper than dirt and midway usa for a rough estimate. If the ammo is expensive, I'll move on and start drooling over something else. The only exception to this rule is the Enfield. I've wanted one for a long time and will eventually get one. Then again, there's a lot of other weapons that I intend on getting before I get an Enfield.
That said, when I start reloading, things will change. Like PotatoJudge said, all I'll need is around 100 casings and I will be good as gold.

chris in va

June 14, 2007, 02:29 AM

I'm with RNB65 on this one. When Wolf was reasonable, we'd plow through the x39 like no tomorrow with my friend's AK. Gradually the SKS saw more action, now my CZ Carbine is the shining star. Same fun, more accuracy and way less ammo useage. I've even gone from using a scope and red dot to the stock iron sights.

I had to do a training class last weekend and the cost of .45 nearly bankrupted me.

Rem700SD

June 14, 2007, 02:48 AM

Nope. The bigger the cartridge, the more the savings through reloading.

heypete

June 14, 2007, 03:04 AM

Somewhat.

I recently acquired a suppressor for my .22LR guns, so I've been shooting subsonic .22LR a lot more. Fun, quiet, and cheap. What's not to love?

I've also been raiding nearby shooting establishments for their brass, and have several hundred cases in various calibers that I've been depriming, tumbling, and generally prepping -- I don't have resizing dies in anything but .30-06, so I've just been accumulating them for now. I'm looking to do a bulk buy from Powder Valley of a bunch of primers (small/large rifle and pistol) and powder (IMR 4064 works well in .223, .308, .30-06, and others, while Unique or other powders work well in pistols) in the near future. My XD-45 can handle cast bullets, so I'll look into buying a bunch of those too (don't have casting equipment, storage room, or a safe place to use it in my small apartment). With more components, I'll be perfectly happy with shooting more ammo...otherwise, it's just saving up more right now.

/Have Lee Challenger press, will shoot.

silverlance

June 14, 2007, 03:13 AM

hehe. I reload using a rinky dink lee loader that is powered by a 2x4 block of wood and elbow grease (seriously, no kidding).

i get match grade accuracy out of my finn m39.

at 18 cents a round. that's not so bad.

kev

mgh

June 14, 2007, 05:41 AM

Yes. I'll be buying a set Vaqueros and a Marlin rifle for my wife, who is starting to shoot CAS. I thought about letting her use my .38/.357 weapons, and getting myself some new .45 colts, but decided to stay with the .357 due to cost of ammo and cost of .45 reloading supplies. Cheaper to just reload for the .357 for the whole family. Outside of cowboy shooting I'll be using my .22's. Wish I'd stocked up while the stocking was good.

SURVIVAL

June 14, 2007, 07:23 AM

Shooting The Ak 7.62x39 Less Conserving The Ammo I Have. Started Shooting 8mm Mauser Alot Its Cheap At Least For Now Had To Buy Some Mausers To Shoot It In.theres One Problem I Cant Stop Buying The Mausers. I Think Ive Got Mauser Fever.

JohnBT

June 14, 2007, 09:04 AM

I've been reading that .223 ammo is getting expensive, so I'm going to meet a guy tomorrow evening to look at an AR he has for sale.

JohnBT - the B stands for backward I guess

RNB65

June 14, 2007, 10:28 AM

I've been reading that .223 ammo is getting expensive,

$7.99 for a box of American Eagle at Green Top.

Not too long ago it costs $3.99 a box.

:(

Tin Gizel

June 14, 2007, 11:08 AM

.223 ammo is definately getting expensive.....cheapest I've been able to find factory loads is at Wally World for $6.44/20 and they hardly ever have any on hand.

Just got in a case of Wolf .223 yesterday. Took it to the range and blew threw 200 rnds without a hitch....may order a couple more cases.

aka108

June 14, 2007, 11:55 AM

Reloading for the majority of centerfire cartridges is within a penny or two a round so not necessary to cut out one caliber and shoot more of another. Components costs have gone up but not quite as fast as factory ammo. I stock up on components cause don't know what is going to happen when your lady and mine, Hillary, gets herself in office and she and Bill will be running the show.

I just posted on another thread.gov bought 426 million rds last year this year 1.5 billion.you wonder why cost is up.componants are going up and some are short.look up==news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070521/ap_on_bi_ge ammunition supply====:uhoh::banghead:

wcwhitey

June 14, 2007, 05:47 PM

The price of ammo made my Rossi .357 carbine an easy sell to the wife. Honey I already load that caliber, it will save use money. Bill

Frog48

June 14, 2007, 10:08 PM

I've been reading that .223 ammo is getting expensive

Thats no joke. Its still not as expensive as, say, .30-06, but its getting up there.

The best deals I've found lately on brass cased .223 are Remington UMC at Walmart and Monarch at Academy. I've been trying to avoid buying the steel cased stuff, but if prices go up much more, I might have to.

If you enjoyed reading about "Has ammo cost or availablity made you change your rifle choices?" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join TheHighRoad.org today for the full version!